1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical electrode assembly for capturing electrocardiowaves appearing on a surface of a human body and stimulating acupuncture points on the body to give a medical treatment, and a medical device provided with the medical electrode assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
When a diagnosis of a heart is done using an electrocardiograph, an electrode for an electrocardiographic measurement is attached on a region (hereinafter, electrocardiowave-appearing region) where specific electrocardiowaves appear on a surface of a human body, and the electrocardiowaves are captured by the electrode. The captured electrocardiowaves are given by an electrocardiograph as an electrocardiographic pattern to be presented to a doctor. The doctor diagnoses the state of the heart on the basis of the electrocardiographic pattern.
However, the electrode for electrocardiographic measurement is very difficult to attach correctly, and if an amateur or nonexpert attaches such an electrode, the person is apt to attach the electrode on a position off the electrocardiowave-appearing region. When the electrode is attached to a position off the electrocardiowave-appearing region, a desired electrocardiogram cannot be attained and undesired noises are captured to mislead the diagnosis by the doctor. In this situation, the subject has to visit the hospital even when the subject only wants to attach the electrode of a portable type electrocardiograph, although, naturally, the subject visits to seek the doctor's diagnosis. It is conceivable to widen the area of the electrode so that the electrode can cover the electrocardiowave-appearing region even when the electrode is set somewhat off the attachment position. However, widening the area of the electrode captures not only the desired elecrocardiowaves, but also noises as well, which also misleads the diagnosis by the doctor.
When using a medical device such as a low frequency therapy equipment that gives electric signals to the body of a subject to perform a medical treatment, an electrode for giving medical electric signals is attached to a region (acupuncture point region) containing acupuncture points and the peripheral region thereof that can feel the electric signals given to the region as stimuli to the acupuncture points. Applying medical electric signals such as a low frequency current to the attached electrode gives stimuli to the acupuncture points to produce a good medical effect.
However, the electrode for medical treatment is very difficult to attach correctly, and if an amateur or nonexpert attaches such an electrode, the person is apt to attach the electrode on a position off the acupuncture region. If the electrode is attached to a position off the acupuncture region and a low frequency current is applied to the electrode, the medical effect will remarkably reduce. When, even if an expert attaches the electrode precisely to the acupuncture region, the medical electric signals are applied for a long time continuously to one point of the acupuncture region, habituation in the acupuncture points against the stimuli will be created as the time passes by the electric signals and the medical effect will be reduced.